Underneath the Golden Boy - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

220 Underneath the Golden Boy
acts should not be surprising for two reasons: (i) the Uniform Act was based
upon the Saskatchewan creditor enforcement regime, and (ii) the 1998 Uniform
Conference’s consultation report was presented by Mr. Darcy McGovern. In
2002, Mr. McGovern, as a representative of legislative services of the
Department of Justice, appeared before the Saskatchewan Legislature’s
Committee of the Whole regarding Bill 23, which would become the Registered
Plan (Retirement Income) Exemption Act. 53 It should be noted that the debates
in the Saskatchewan Legislature did not distinguish between the various possible
types of creditors, whether they be banks or those who had suffered a personal
injury. 54
V. LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
A. Planning Stage
The 4 December 2006 submission by the Canadian Federation of Independent
Business (“CFIB”) at the Standing Committee on Social and Economic
Development gives an indication of the planning behind this legislation. In
Committee, Mr. Shannon Martin of CFIB said:
By way of background, in 2004, Department of Finance officials approached CFIB to seek
our members' views on this issue. As a result, we asked the following question: Should the
Manitoba government introduce legislation to protect RRSPs from debt collection Two
thirds of our members supported this legislation, 25 percent of our members rejected the
idea, and 9 percent of our members were undecided. 55 [emphasis added.]
B. Introduction of Bill 6
Bill 6, The Registered Retirement Savings Protection Act, was introduced to the
legislature on 28 November 2006. The motion to introduce the bill was
adopted. 56
C. Second Reading
The bill was addressed in second reading debate by all three parties, but there
was more consensus than there was conflict. The finance minister presented the
NDP government’s two main reasons for the bill: (i) the social importance of
having sufficient financial resources in retirement, and (ii) an issue of fairness 57 —
53
Supra note 51, 45 (29 May 2002) at 1682.
54
See Sections II.B. and V.D. for discussion on the different types of creditors.
55
Supra note 33.
56
Supra note 2, 58 (28 November 2006) at 317.
57
Ibid. 58 (30 November 2006) at 436, (Hon. Greg Selinger).